Bacon slicing machine



Aug 17, 196s o. GARAPOLQ 3,200,865

BACON SLIGING MACHINE Filed April 12, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 17,1965 o. GARAPoLo BACON SLICING MACHINE Filed April 12, 1963 2Sheets-Sheet 2 mfmwM mm wm @N """Illl MIM United States Patent O3,200,865 BACGN SLICING MACHINE Orlando Garapolo, Brookfield, Ill.,assigner to Wilson t Co., Inc., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 12,1963, Ser. No. 272,570 4 Claims. (Cl. 14e-$5) This invention relates toa slicing machine, more particularly it is concerned with bacon slicingmachines and with means for automatically retracting the tines of thegripping mechanism which hold meat during a slicing operation, as thecarriage bearing the pinned heel returns to the station where la newportion of meat or slab of bacon will be positioned on the carriage.

During slicing operations, a, for example, slab of bacon must be grippedrmly as it is pushed into engagement with the slicing blade of a baconslicing machine in order to obtain accurate, uniform slicing. The slabof bacon is held in place during the slicing operation by a plurality ofgripper` tines that extend into one end of the slab. After each slab ofbacon is substantially completely sliced, the carriage that pushes theslab of bacon into engagement with the slicing blade is returned to itsstarting position and carriers with it the heel of the slab into whichthe gripper tines extend. In order to obtain maximum output, the machineis operated automatically, and the interval of time allowed for removalof the heel and positioning of a new slab of bacon for the next slicingoperation must be kept at a minimum.

In order to reduce the non-slicing time of the machine, means have beendevised to move the gripper tines into engagement with a slab of baconautomatically Within a very short time interval as the slab of bacon,positioned on the bed of the machine in front of the carriage, is movedtoward the slicing blade. One such means comprises a shaft rotatablymounted in plates extending forwardly of the carriage. The gripper tinesare secured to the shaft and project upwardly and forwardly from theshaft. A gear fixed to the shaft meshes with a second gear fixed to aparallel shaft also rotatably mounted in said plates. A cam arm xed tothe second shaft is positioned to extend vertically upwardly therefromwhen the gripper tines are free of a slab of bacon positionedimmediately in front of the carriage. A cam plate is mounted on themachine in position to be engaged by the cam arm before the slab ofbacon engages the slicing blade. The cam plate forces the cam arm tomove clockwise, and the intermeshed gears move the gripping tinescounterclockwise into gripping engagement with the slab of bacon.

Manual disengagement of the gripper tines and removal of the heel of theslab of bacon have proved to be too slow for successful commercialslicing operations. Various means have 'been tried for disengaging thegripper tines from the heel of the slab automatically but heretofore nomeans have been found capable of accomplishing this result within thedesired time interval.

Often when the tines were found jammed into the -heel of bacon and theoperators could not get it free before the carriage started its movementtoward the slicing blade, the operators of the slicing machine placedthe new slab of bacon against the heel of the slab previously slicedrather than in a position permitting the ICC tines to secure the slab.This practice caused `wastage, poor cutting, and general operatingproblems.

In accordance with the present invention, a release lever is pivotedadjacent its upper end to one wall of the carriage, and an abutment issecured to the slicing machine in position to be engaged by said releaselever as the carriage is` returned to its starting position. The releaselever rides over the abutment as the carriage is moved .toward theslicing blade, and the release lever drops into vertical position beforethe slab of Ibacon is completely sliced. On the return movement of thecarriage, the release lever again rides over the abutment. However,before the lower end of the release lever clears the abutment on thereturn movement, it engages the rear edge of the cam arm which isrearwardly inclined because of the interengagement of the gripper tineswith the heel of the slab of bacon that has just been sliced. The lowerend of the release lever is moved pivotally upward by the abutment whileit is engaged with the rear edge of the cam arm, and the release leverexerts a positive for-ce against the cam arm to move it into verticallyupright position, thus disengaging the gripper tines from the heel ofthe slab of bacon.

A structure `by means of which the above and other ladvantages of theinvention are Iattained will be `described in detail in the followingspecification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingsshowing a preferred illustrative embodiment of the invention, in which:

FIG. l is a front elevational view of a bacon slicing machine in whichthe present invention is embodied;

FIG. 2 is ta fragment-ary cross sectional View, taken generally alongthe line ZZ of FIG. 3, showing the gripper .tines `and the releasemechanism;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the gripper tines andthe release lever in position as the carriage is moved .to its startingposition, just after the lever kicks the cam arm to release the grippertines from the heel of a slab of bacon; and

FIG. 4 is .a longitudinal sectional view showing the cam arm and thegripper tines in the positions occupied at the end of the movement ofthe carriage toward the slicing blade, just before the start of thereturn movement of the carriage.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a bacon slicing machine comprises aframe 11 having ya motor 12 for rotating a shaft 13 and reciprocating acarri-age 14 across the bed 15 of the machine. A slicing blade 16,mounted on `one end of the shaft is enclosed in a housing 16. The shaftis rotated continuously at a high rate of speed. The forward andrearward movement -of the carriage is controlled by a pneumatic systemand a plurali-ty of valves. A plurality of sensing fingers 17 mounted inclose proximity to the slicing blade measures the cross sectional .areaof the slab 18 of bacon 'being sliced and actnates the valves to varythe thickness of the bacon `slices according to their cross sectionalarea, so that each group of `a predetermined number of slices will haveuniform Weight. This structure is fully described in my prior -PatentNo. 2,966,186, issued December 27, 1960, and, since it is not part ofthe present invention, the description is not repeated here.

The carriage 14 has an upstanding wall 19 to which a release lever Ztlis pivoted, as indicated at 2l. The wall 19 has ya pair of parallelplates Z2 extending forwardly therefrom. Plates 22 may be integral withwall 19 or may be lseparate members secured thereto 1n any suitablemanner. Two parallel shafts 23 and 24 are rotatably mounted in plates22. A. plurality of gripper tines 25 are each secured at one en-d toshaft 23 and their tree ends extend upwardly and forwardly from saidshaft to engage a slab 18 of bacon to be sliced. A cam arm 26 is xed toshaft 2d. ilntermeshing gears yZ7 and 28 are mounted on shafts 23 and24, respectively. The lower end of cam arm 26 is bifurcated, asindicated 4at v29, to straddle gear 27. The upper end of arm 26 thas aninclined cam surface 30 adapted to engage a cam plate 3l when carriage14 is moved forwardly toward the slicing blade.

The cam plate 3l is mounted on a flange 52 extending laterally from theupper edge of an upstanding plate 33 that is integral with frame ll. Asshown in FlG. 3, one end of cam plate 31 is positioned close to theforward edge of cam yarm 26 so that it is engaged by the cam arm shortlyafter carriage 14 starts its forward movement. The l-ower end of camsurface 3d is closer to the cam plate than its upper end. When thecarriage i4 starts moving forwardly, cam arm 25 engages the end of camplate 3l before the slab l@ of bacon is Iengaged by the slicing blade.As the carriage 14 continues its forward movement, cam arm 26 isr-otated clockwise and rotates shaft 24 and gear 28 with it until cam`surface 30 rides under the cam plate.

The clockwise rotation of gear 28 rotate-s gear 27 and shat 23counterclockwise to drive gripping tines 25 into the slab 1S of bacon.YThe gripper tines hold slab 18 rmly in place until it is almostcompletely sliced, and only the heel 34, into which tine-s 25 project,remain-s. The cam plate is longer than `the path of travel of the camarm and holds the cam arm in the inclined posi- 'tion shown `in FIG. 4until the slab of bacon has been sliced as far as possible, and thecarriage is moved back toward its starting position. The engagement oftines 25 with the .bacon holds the cam arm in said inclined positionafter the cam arm clears the end of cam plate 31 on the return movementof the carriage, until -a posirtive force is exerted against the camarm.

An abutment, in the form of a stud 35, is secured to plate 33 by a nut36. The lower end of release lever 2li has a lateral projection 37adapted to cooperate with stud 35 and -cam rod 26 to remove the grippertines lfrom the heel of the slab of bacon after the slab has beensliced. When the carriage moves forward to push the slab of bacon intoengagement with the slicing blade, release lever Ztl .rides over theabutment. As shown in FIG. 4, the spacing of abutment 35 and releaselever `249 permits t-he lower end of the lever to clear the abutment sothat the release lever drops into vertical position between the slicingblade and the abutment before the slab of bacon is completely sliced.

-During the return movement of the carriage, after the bacon has `beensliced, release lever 2d engages abutment 35 and is pivotally moved in aclockwise direction thereby. Cam arm 26, which is also moved to theright, as viewed in FIG. 4, by the return movement of the carriage, isso positioned, relative to pivot 21, that the lower end of the releaselever engages .the edge of cam arm 26 before the release lever clearsthe abutment. The upward pivotal movement of release lever 20 causes itslower end to ,exe-rt a positive force against the cam `arm 26 to move itinto vertically upright position, thereby releasing the gripper tinesfrom the heel of the slab of bacon that has just been sliced. Thegripper tines are released from the bacon just `before the carriagereaches .the end of its return movement thus allowing a short timeinterv-al for the operator to remove the heel 34 and to position `a newslab t8 of bacon before the carriage starts moving toward the slicingblade.

snoepen Although I have described a preferred embodiment of theinvention in considerable detail, it will be understood that thedescription thereof is intended to be illustrative, rather thanrestrictive, as many details of construction may be modiiied or changedwithout departing Vfrom the spirit or scope of the invention.Accordingly, I do not desire to be restricted to the exact structuredisclosed.

I claim:

l. In a meat slicing machine, a slicing blade, a carriage for moving aportion of meat to said slicing blade, .means for reciprocating saidcarriage longitudinally or" the machine, `a plurality `of gripper tinesengageable with the heel of `a portion of meat being moved by saidcarriage, a cam arm operatively connected to said gripper tines, meansengageable with said cam arm during the movement of said meat towardsaid slicing blade to force said gripper tines into holding engagementwith said meat, and means operable automatically to disengage .saidgripper tines from the heel of said portion of meat at a predeterminedpoint-in the return travel of said carriage, said last mentioned meanscomprising a lever pivotally mounted on the carriage and directlyengageable .with said calm arm during the return movement of saidcarriage to move said cam arm a distance sutlicient to force saidgripper tines out of holding engagement with the heel of said portion ofmeat before completion olf the return movement of the carriage.

2. -n a bacon slicing machine, a slicing blade, a carriage for moving aslab of bacon into engagement with said slicing blade, means forreciprocating said carriage longitudinally of t-he machine, a pluralityof gripper tines engageable with a slab of bacon being moved by saidcarriage to hold it against displacement relative to said carriageduring the slicing oper-ation, an arm pivotally mounted on saidcarriage, said arm being operatively connected to said tines to movethem into and out of engagement with said slab of bacon as the arm ispivotally moved in opposite directions, means engageable with said armto move said arm pivota-lly in one direction as said carriage is movedtoward said slicing blade, thereby forcing said tines into engagementwith said slab of bacon, a release lever directly engageable wtih `saidarm to move it pivotally in the opposite direction to disengage saidtines from the heel of the slab of bacon, and means engageable with saidrelease lever to move it into engagement with said arm during the returnmovement of said carriage.

3. A bacon slicing machine comprising a frame, a slicing fblade mountedon said frame, a carriage mounted on said frame `for reciprocatorymovement toward and away from said blade, means for continuouslyreciprocating said carriage, a plurality of gripper .tines mounted onsaid carriage, said tines being engageable with a slab of bacon adjacentthe forward en-d of said carriage for holding said slab of bacon againstdisplacement relative to said carriage, whereby said slab of bacon ismoved into engagement with said slicing blade as said carriage 1s movedforwardly, an arm mounted on said carriage, rneans operativelyconnecting said arm to said gripper tines, means engageable with saidarm upon forward movement of said carriage to move said arm in adirection to force said gripper tines into engagement with said slab ofbacon, a release lever pivotally mounted on =sa1d carriage, and meansengageable with said release lever upon return movement of said carriageto move it directly against said arm to disengage said gripper tines`from the heel of .the slab o-f bacon.

4. A bac-on slicing macihne comprising a frame, a slicing blade mountedon said frame, a carriage mounted on said frame for reciprocat-orymovement toward and Iaway from said blade, means for continuouslyreciprocating said carriage, a plurality of gripper tines mounted onsaid carriage, said tines being engagea-ble with a slab of baconadjacent the forward end of said carriage forholding said slabwof baconagainst displacement relative to said carriage, whereby said slab ofbacon is lmoved into engagement with said slicing blade as said carriageis moved forwardly, an arm mounted on said carriage, means operativelyconnecting `said arm to sai-d gripper tines, means engageaole with saidarm upon for* ward movement of said carriage to move said arm in adirection to force said gripper tines into engagement with said slab ofbacon, a release lever pivotally mounted on said carriage rearwardly ofsaid arm, and an abut- 10 ment projecting from said frame to engage saidrelease leverupon return movement of said carriage, said abut-References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,832,388 4/58Folk 146-95 3,010,499 lil/6l Dalims et al. 146-95 X I. SPENCEROVERHOLS'R, Primary Exlamz'fler.

1. IN A MEAT SLICING MACHINE, A SLICING BALDE, A CARRIAGE FOR MOVING APORTION OF MEAT TO SAID SLICING BLADE, MEANS FOR RECIPROCATING SAIDCARRIAGE LONGITUDINALLY OF THE MACHINE, A PLURALITY OF GRIPPER TINESENGAGEABLE WITH THE HEEL OF A PORTION OF MEAT BEING MOVED BY SAIDCARRIAGE, A CAM ARM OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID GRIPPER TINES, MEANSENGAGEABLE WITH SAID CAM ARM DURING THE MOVEMENT OF SAID MEAT TOWARDSAID SLICING BALDE TO FORCE SAID GRIPPER TINES INTO HOLDING ENGAGEMENTWITH SAID MEAT, AND MEANS OPERABLE AUTOMITICALLY TO DISENGAGE SAIDGRIPPER TINES FROM THE HEEL OF SAID PORTION OF MEAT AT A PREDETERMINEDPOINT IN THE RETURN TRAVEL OF SAID CARRIAGE, SAID LAST MENTIONED MEANSCOMPRISING A LEVER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON THE CARRIAGE AND DIRECTLYENGAGEABLE WITH SAID CAM ARM DURING THE RETURN MOVE MENT OF SAIDCARRIAGE TO MOVE SAID CAM ARM A DISTANCE SUFFICIENT TO FORCE SAIDGRIPPER TINES OUT OF HOLDING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE HEEL OF SAID PORTION OFMEAT BEFORE COMPLECTION OF THE RETURN MOVEMENT OF THE CARRIAGE.